6 splendiferous tipples, read on for the details...
Cullen Margaret River Diana Madeline 2019
98pts Huon Hooke
98pts The Wine Front
A stunningly powerful, complex and concentrated wine. The nose is perfumed and spicy, leading to a mineral palate with plum, tobacco, chocolate and other goodies. Superfine but dense tannins to finish. Drink over the next 40 or 50 years.
Pertaringa The Yeoman Shiraz 2017
97pts James Halliday
Pertaringa‘s The Yeoman Shiraz is only made from the best fruit in exceptional years. This is a very full-bodied wine, squid ink black in colour, its massive size held in check via supreme balance between the fruit, acidity and tannins. An amazingly profound drinking experience. If you are going to rip the lid off now, consider decanting for a few hours before drinking. Otherwise, cellar through to 2030, or 40 or 50.
Pertaringa Tipsy Hill Cabernet 2016
97pts James Halliday
96pts Patrick Eckel
95pts Huon Hooke
The Tipsy Hill Cabernet Sauvignon is from Bec Hardy’s low yielding, ‘handkerchief sized’ vineyard in the Blewitt Springs sub-region of McLaren Vale. The ancient soils and elevation of the Tipsy Hill vineyard offer the perfect conditions for growing high quality Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the first release and offers the classic Cab characters of cassis, cedar, violets, tobacco and dark chocolate. A stunning wine.
Serafino GSM 2019
95pts The Real Review (at time of writing this made it the #1 2019 Australian Grenache blend in Huon Hooke’s Real Review)
Winepilot Trophy #1 Grenache blend
96pts James Halliday – highest pointed 2019 McLaren Vale GSM in Halliday’s Wine Companion at time of writing
Young and super tight, this GSM has a long future ahead of it. Drop it in a decanter or vroom it through a vinturi if you are going to drink it now. The good stuff is as follows... blue fruits, black tea, cherries, plums, spice, musk, focused acidity and silky tannins. In the bad stuff column... nuttin!
Serafino Black Label McLaren Vale Cabernet 2019
Long, polished and plush, with plenty of varietal fruit and a streak of salinity. Quite a triumph for McLaren Cabernet which can struggle to make awesome, authentic Cab. Serafino have a habit of making the unexpected happen though (they also make superb McLaren Chardonnay). This isn’t merely good ‘for McLaren Vale’ it is superb Cab full stop. There’re black fruits, graphite, plump tannins and great length and depth. The kinda Cab you can just lean into, have it regale you.
Heirloom Alcala Grenache 2019
2 x Trophies
2 x Gold Medals
96pts McLaren Vale Wine Show
96pts James Halliday
#2 in Halliday’s Grenache Challenge (134 entries)
Selected from Heirloom’s best McLaren Vale vineyard. We saw musk, cherries, earthiness, black pepper, blackberries and more. A delicious, complete, complex yet playful Grenache and clearly one of Australia’s best.
